The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Leucothoe, botanically known as Leucothoe fontanesiana and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘HOWW’.
The new Leucothoe is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventors in Seneca, S.C. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Leucothoe cultivars with desirable plant form, plant size and leaf coloration.
The new Leucothoe originated from a self-pollination made by the Inventors in May, 1988, in Seneca, S.C. of an unnamed selection of Leucothoe fontanesiana, not patented. The new Leucothoe was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated self-pollination in a controlled environment in Seneca, S.C. in March, 1989.
Asexual reproduction of the new Leucothoe by terminal cuttings in a controlled environment in Seneca, S.C. since October, 1991, has shown that the unique features of this new Leucothoe are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.